Hello all...

RPatrick100

New member
Just joined. I am not huge...5'9" and 238 lbs. I was 252 lbs at my heaviest a few months back. I am very encouraged by some of the pics and results I have seen here.

It seems weight gain is usually mental. The mechanics are very simple. Calorie intake-calorie expended = weight gain or loss. It seems that yes, the mechanics are important but getting one's head right is where the real battle is.

I went on a few dates with a lady who was also overweight. She said she wanted to lose but but seemed to be in denial as to the mental aspects of it ("that blue cheese hamburger without the bun really doesn't have that many calories"). I suspect that she, like me, tends to eat as a way of seeking comfort or out of boredom. It is a house of cards; alter the scenario and the habit falls apart. With me, it is knowing what I can and can't have in the house. If I have ice cream in the house, it will be gone in a day. Any food in the house I really like I will eat until it is gone. I keep a few staples around (oatmeal, raw almonds, fresh fruit, pasta and marinara, canned veggies, skim milk and non-sweetened cereal, and a big pot of bean soup) but nothing I would binge on or am really crazy about. Almonds tend to make me feel full and so make sense. I probably open the fridge or look in the can cabinet 20 times a day. No ice cream, no sweets, no Capn Crunch...but that orange/raisin bran/apple/can of tomato soup/pasta with marinara or olive oil looks good.

What seems to work for me as far as losing is to play racketball and especially take long walks in the evening (up to 6 miles on wooded trails near where I live) and eating very light for a week or so. I lose several pounds this way. At the end of a week I relax my dieting. I still do not binge but eat close to how I normally would...even treating myself to a double hamburger and small fries at McDonalds. I do not gain or lose during this time. At the end of a week, I eat very light again for another week. In time, the hunger is almost comforting once I get past 'the hump'. It seems the less I eat the less I want to eat. It is 10pm and I am sitting down with a guilt free salad with vinaigrette and a bowl of soup.

Like I said, my mechanics are probably bad but I like where my head is and what seems to work.

A forum of like-minded individuals seems like a great addition as well. Any comments very welcome.

Patrick
 
Welcome to the forum.

I would not say that your mechanics are bad at all. Lots of people ban things from the house. Indeed my food control was most successful when I was able to ban all sorts of things including bread and high calorie cereals from the house (I can eat a family sized box in an hour)...

Treats are things that many of us do from time to time too... In fact I know people that swear by a regular "cheat day" with more calories to try to perk up their metabolism... I also know people that swear by Intermittent Fasting... These people have read the research and are not the type to jump on any bandwagon or latest fad diet.

My only concern is that I believe that we should all try to ensure that we get enough protein, fibre, calcium and healthy fats in the food as our bodies need good food. I hasten to add that I believe that my body was malnourished when I was a very big person as the type of food that I ate was not healthy.

I certainly eat out with friends from time to time - and when I do I have a calorie surplus (instead of the deficit that I normally hope for)... Many of us have to look at food control as a life long habit and not a short term diet. We have to find ways of dealing with special occasions and we have to cope mentally with the calorie surpluses that we know will happen then.

As I say - I see nothing in your plan which is unreasonable. It is great that you are incorporating exercise.

The bottom line is that you have found something that appears to work - so that is brilliant.
 
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